More Interesting Than History

I went on a walking tour of Madrid on Tuesday, lead by my very expressive - and fashionable - cultura teacher. I was glad to finally have a tour of some sort. I’m notorious for taking pictures of things that look important although I have no idea what they are. I’d seen much of what we viewed already, so the tour for me could have been titled “an explanation of your camera’s contents.”

Of course, she recounted the dates major events happened, which king is on which horse (there are so many man-mounted-on-horse statues), and explained the significance of major landmarks. My favorite points in her tour though were not the actual historical facts, but the stories/rumors/legends behind some of Madrid’s oldest places. I’m going to save you the tedious details, and instead tell you the good stuff. 

Did you know…?

•  Like many other cities, Madrid has a Plaza Mayor, a big square surrounded by a building. At one point it functioned as a market, bullfighting rink and speed dating location (?). Legend says that men could only walk in one direction around the outside, and women in the other. When a guy saw a girl he liked, he could just pick her out of the line!
• At one time, Madrid was a walled city, therefore many places have names like the famous Puerta del Sol (Door of the Sun) named for some characteristic of the gate that once stood there. There is a certain square in madrid, outside the Plaza Mayor called La Puerta Cerrada. It got its name because it was often closed at night due to crime, but is more famous for why its no longer there. There was once a Spainish king, married to a queen, who also had many amantes (lovers). He made a habit of meeting one of them at night at the Puerta Cerrada. So, the queen had it destroyed to keep the king from seeing her. I hope for the queen’s sake the saying “if one door closes another one opens” didn’t come true. 
• There is a saying: ”Quien no pasa por la calle de la Pasa, no se casa” (He who doesn’t pass by/walk on the street of the Raisin, does not get married.) This adorable, superstitious play on words actually has its roots in real history. 1. It was once a street lined with church buildings. Poor people that lived in the area were told that if they came to church they would be given some food, like raisins, and water, resulting in its name. 2. Because it was lined with church buildings, people would literally have to walk down the street in order to get married so they could have their papers signed. If they didn’t do that, they weren’t legally married. This fact has turned in to a great little piece of superstition. Lucky me, I’ve officially passed through raisin street. Sadly, there was no husband waiting at the end - or raisin. =D

ps. Still struggling with uploading pictures! I’m going to try the wifi at school on Monday.